NASA is starting to set up Time Zones for the Moon to guide lunar missions.
“As NASA, private companies, and space agencies around the world launch missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, it’s important that we establish celestial time standards for safety and accuracy,” OSTP Deputy Director for National Security Steve Welby stated, “A consistent definition of time among operators in space is critical to successful space situational awareness capabilities, navigation, and communications, all of which are foundational to enable interoperability across the U.S. government and with international partners.”
Since the Moon has a weaker gravity than the Earth’s, time is said to progress faster there thus the need for a new Time Zone. This official time reference is called Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC).
